


Brighter Days

by GoalPostHead



Category: The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island (2007)
Genre: Gen, pre film
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-10 00:44:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4370774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoalPostHead/pseuds/GoalPostHead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It completely changed my life. Then I blew it all, on the expensive alcohol and the women, the booze, the wine, and the cars. I bought a monster truck."<br/>How I imagine Charles' first lottery win.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brighter Days

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to hypothetical_otters for reading over this and correcting my spelling and grammar also for the title! You are brilliant!  
> Characters are not mine, I'm just borrowing them, They belong to the brilliant Tim Key and Tom Basden

Charles stared down at the ticket in his hand, he couldn't believe his eyes the numbers matched, he pulled up his laptop to check again online the numbers were there exactly the same as the numbers on his ticket. Charles redeemed the five million pounds, he first called his mother he told her that it was sat in his bank account, he promised to pay off her debts. He called everyone in his phone contacts "I only went and won the bloody lottery” he said to everyone who answered, a lot of people laughed it off thinking it was a joke. He received a phone call from the lottery team asking for an interview, soon he was getting phone calls from newspapers asking him about his win, and he told them all about it.

He called all his friends for a party telling to bring as many people as they knew. Charles spent most of the party stood next to his now framed ticket, jabbing at it whenever people walked by "8 10 11 17 42. These numbers paid for this" he slurred drinking champagne, he started drinking from the bottle, he drank nearly three bottles to himself.

Charles was still wobbly when he woke up, around him lay sleeping bodies in various states of undress, he couldn't remember what happened the previous night. the TV was flickering in the corner of the room, Charles picked up a glass that sat by the bed downing it he pulled a face discovering it was champagne mixed with something a lot stronger, vodka maybe. He watched the adverts that appeared on the TV, a monster truck rally was going on at the weekend, he found himself pulling out his laptop and trying to Google where to buy a monster truck. a short while later he owned a monster truck that would be entered in the rally he just saw the ad for, he threw his laptop across the room hearing a crash he flopped down and went back to sleep.

Charles woke a while later, the people who had surrounded him earlier all gone, he rubbed his head a hangover setting in he looked around the room and pulled a disgusted face at the chaos. He headed into the city centre intending to buy new things for his flat when he walked past an estate agent; he decided to walk in and ended up buying the biggest house on sale. He went and bought a new television, laptop and a Lamborghini ready for his new home.

Charles went to the monster truck rally before spending his first night in his new home; he had a house warming party with the most expensive alcohol he could lay his hands on. He didn't know half of the people at the party but he still drank with them, they trashed at least three rooms, yet when he woke up he only remembered snippets. Charles groaned looking around the room, he rubbed his head absent mindedly, he woke up like that more and more often and without realizing it he was dependent on the expensive alcohol he'd been pouring into himself, the expensive food he'd been eating.

The expense never mattered to him until, five and a half years after the win; he was buying wine when his card was rejected. He had to go home empty handed he sold his fleet of cars, he never needed them anymore he had been banned for getting too many points on his license, the monster truck which had sat unused now no longer his. The money from that lasted just over six months, he sold his house buying instead a studio flat, that money lasted him a while.

Charles was down to his last few pounds he felt the coins in his pocket as he peered into the fridge containing glass bottles and cans, he heard the radio in the background he heard an announcement for the lottery prize of fifteen million pounds before an advert started playing with the song Raspberry Fair, he sighed looking at the prices thinking to himself. The lottery ruined his life, he was reminded of that Every time he walked past the framed ticket that he still kept in the hope that it would set him straight someday, he walked up to the counter "Lucky dip on Fridays lottery" he placed his money down. On Friday he watched the draw ticket in his hand, he watched the numbers being drawn more disbelieving after each number. He didn't celebrate, he just stared at the paper in his hands, flicking the channel over he heard Raspberry fair playing, he promised himself he wouldn't repeat last time. He phoned his mother, that hadn't talked for almost two years "I won" he said before she could say anything "Charles is that you?" she asked.

"Yeah"

"What did you win" She sounded almost nervous.

"The lottery, I won it again"

"Oh Charles. That’s..."

"Its not going to happen again." He promised "And I will pay off your debts this time" he added

He left it a day before he cashed his ticket, he asked for no press coverage but it was soon in papers "Lottery winner Charles Heath wins again", "He wasted his first win can he be trusted with a second?!" with pictures of him from six years ago and his first win, a lot of comments on social media where asking if it’s really fair. He first paid off debts for his mum, leaving behind everyone he had met in the past few years he moved away to a large house on a small Welsh island. He loved Wallis Island it was so remote, he had to go to the mainland to do anything. He found the singer of Raspberry Fair, Herb McGwyer; he fell in love with the music it became the soundtrack to his life getting back on track. Charles hated the crowds but he still went to Herb's gigs on the mainland, He wanted to meet Herb and tell him all about what he meant to him but Herb never talked to fans he just bustled off stage and left shows unseen.

After a year Charles, comfortable with his new life, wrote to Herb asking him to do a show on Wallis Island. A reply came a few weeks later agreeing to the show, Charles was over the moon.


End file.
